The present invention relates to the decoration of sheet materials and includes inter alia the production of transfers. In particular, it relates to the production of transfers formed by comprising a pattern of similar or different transferable items on a suitable carrier sheet which may be used in said decoration.
Transfers comprising a carrier sheet for the article or articles to be transferred, and one or more articles carried on the carrier sheet, are well known. Such transfers are particularly well known in the textile industry where the carrier sheet has a contact adhesive on its surface which serves to retain temporarily the articles to be transferred, while the articles each have a layer of an adhesive, typically a heat-sensitive adhesive, whereby on laying the transfer on a textile material to which the transfer is to be applied, the application of heat and pressure causes the heat sensitive adhesive on each of the articles to be transferred, to be activated to flow under the applied pressure into the adjacent surface of the textile material and to develop a bond to the material, which is greater than the bond between the carrier sheet and the article to be transferred. On release of the heat and the pressure, therefore, the carrier sheet can be peeled back from the transferred articles leaving the transferred articles in position.
This technique is generally well known and has been applied to many different kinds of articles, for example, colored foil, beads, rhinestones and embroidered articles, but the formation of the transfers comprising a number of individual transferable items has hitherto been a costly and time consuming business and, in many cases, requires individual preparation virtually by hand.
There is a need within the textile industry to provide complex designs and patterns of similar and/or different items on a sheet material in a reproducible manner. This is particularly important in the application of such patterns to pre-cut textile fabrics where it is important to ensure the registration between the design on the one hand and the cut textile fabric on the other. In order to achieve this it is necessary that the patterns themselves be as nearly identical to one another as possible. Furthermore, when transfers are produced, it is essential that the patterns provided should be repeated at precise intervals on a carrier sheet to enable accurate registration or indexing of the pattern with the precut sheet or article by automatic handling equipment during application of the transfer. In particular, there is a need to provide a pattern in a reproducible form at a low price.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of making a transfer by mounting transferable articles on an intermediate sheet material, each article having an adhesive layer on one surface thereof for the purpose of effecting a bond to a final sheet material to which it is subsequently to be applied, which method comprises,
1. mounting each said article on a longitudinal tape constituting intermediate support for each article, PA0 2. each article as mounted on said tape being oriented so that its adhesive layer is disposed in the same direction relative to the tape, PA0 3. mounting said tape for supply to an article transfer station at which one or more articles may be applied to a sheet substrate, and PA0 4. thereafter causing or allowing the transfer of said articles at said transfer station from said tape either directly or indirectly to a substrate with the adhesive layer of the article juxtaposed with the receptor sheet substrate; and wherein the application of heat and pressure causes or allows said articles to be attached to said substrate in a predetermined pattern.
The invention also includes a transfer tape comprising a longitudinal self-supporting perforated tape having an adhesive layer on one side thereof and a plurality of transferable articles adhering to said adhesive layer in a longitudinal array, each article being in register with a perforation in the tape.
The invention further includes apparatus for forming a pattern of articles on a substrate, which comprises means for advancing a longitudinal length of substrate material along a substrate path, a transfer station comprising a plurality of transfer heads extending transversely of said path, each transfer head being adapted to transfer articles to said substrate, magazine means associated with each said transfer head for the supply of said articles to said substrate, and control means for controlling relative movement between the substrate and the transfer heads, wherein the magazine means includes a longitudinal tape carrying a plurality of said articles thereon for transfer to said substrate, and means for advancing said tape to said respective transfer head at which an article or groups of articles are presented for transfer.
The invention also includes an intermediate carrier sheet having a layer of adhesive on one surface, where said layer carries a plurality of articles arranged in a regular pattern thereof, each article having a layer of heat sensitive adhesive on one surface thereof and oriented so that said layer is remote from the intermediate carrier sheet material.
In one embodiment of the invention, the substrate is an intermediate carrier sheet having a layer of tack adhesive thereon, said articles being transferred thereto at said article transfer station, each article being oriented with respect to the carrier sheet so that its adhesive layer is remote from the carrier sheet, and thereafter applying the intermediate carrier sheet to a receptor sheet to be decorated with the adhesive layer of the articles juxtaposed said receptor sheet; and wherein the application of heat and pressure causes adhesion of said articles to the receptor sheet thereby permitting removal of the carrier sheet to leave the pattern of articles applied to the receptor sheet. The articles may be disposed on said tape with the adhesive layer in contact with the adhesive layer on the tape surface.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the substrate may be the receptor sheet to be decorated. The transfer station may include heat and pressure means to provide sufficient adhesion between the adhesion layer on said article and said receptor sheet to retain said articles to form a pattern of articles thereon. The decorated receptor sheet may be subjected to the application of heat and pressure to effect more permanent bonding of the article to the receptor sheet material.
The tape may be a perforated tape and the article may be contacted therewith such that on contacting the adhesive layer of the tape for temporary adhesion thereto, each article covers a perforation in the tape. The article may be contacted with a perforated tape such that at regular intervals, a perforation is uncovered to allow said uncovered perforations to engage a sprocket wheel for transport of the tape. In a particular embodiment of the invention, alternate perforations of the tape are covered by articles.
Said transfer station may include one or more transfer heads, each head being adapted to transfer articles from said tape to said substrate, said heads being disposed transversely with respect to the longitudinal axis of said substrate material and arranged for transverse movement with respect thereto, whereby integer movement of the substrate and transverse movement of the heads with respect thereto from its application of a pattern of articles to a substrate. The tape carrying said articles may be wound on a spool which may be mounted in juxtaposition to said transfer head for the sequential supply of articles thereto.
The apparatus of the invention may include a transfer station comprising tape guide means for guiding said tape, a reciprocating member adapted to engage said tape, means to align an article on said tape with said reciprocating member whereby operation of the reciprocating member is caused to engage the tape and/or article thereon, to urge said article into adhesive contact with said substrate. Where the tape is perforated, sprocket means may be adapted to engage perforations in the tape to advance the tape to bring a perforation covered by an article into registration with the reciprocating member whereby on operation of said reciprocating member, said member enters the perforation and contacts the article to urge the article into adhesive contact with the substrate and simultaneously releasing the article from said tape.
The transfer station may include anvil means juxtaposed the substrate sheet and aligned with said reciprocating member, the arrangement being such that operation of the reciprocating member brings said article into adhesive engagement with the substrate by pressure against the anvil means. The anvil means may be movable between a pressure position and a free position so that in the pressure position it supports the substrate sheet to allow the reciprocating member to press the adhesive layer of the substrate against the back pressure of said anvil member. Where the substrate is the receptor sheet material to be decorated, the anvil member may be heated. In this latter case, the articles may be disposed on the tape with the adhesive layer of the articles disposed on the side of each article remote from said tape for contact with the receptor sheet.
The control means may move the substrate sheet material forwards, in reverse or laterally with respect to the transfer station and/or provide integer motion or stop/start operation. The control means may further act to control the movement of one or more of the transfer heads and/or the movement of the substate material, thus allowing the formation of, for example, circles, curves and lateral lines.
In addition to the composition of patterns for direct or transfer application, the apparatus of the invention allows for the manufacture of patterns in the form of strips or individual motifs which may be cut subsequently and sold as strips or as individual motifs.
The articles may be applied directly to cut pieces. In this case the precut pieces of substrate material may be carried by a continuous mounting or backing sheet or on an endless carrier belt.
The present invention further includes a method of mounting a transferable article on a sheet material in which each article has an adhesive layer on one surface thereof for the purpose of effecting a bond with a sheet material to which it is subsequently to be applied, which method comprises sorting said articles to orient each article so that the adhesive layer of each article is disposed in the same direction, feeding the articles sequentially to a mounting station, providing a continuous tape having an adhesive layer on one side thereof at said mounting station, contacting the article with the adhesive layer on the tape so that the article is carried on said tape and may subsequently be detached therefrom while retaining the adhesive layer on the article substantially intact. In one aspect of the invention the adhesive layer on the article is in contact with the adhesive layer on the tape.
The articles may be supplied to the transfer head in a line and a reciprocating member may engage an article and push it into contact with the tack adhesive layer on said tape. The tape may be carried by at least one sprocket to permit accurate registration of a perforation and an article.
In an alternative embodiment, the mounting station may comprise a roller having a plurality of circumferentially spaced recesses, each adapted to accommodate an article in a particular orientation, a reciprocatable locating member adapted to lift an article from said supply into a recess, and a sprocket wheel which engages a perforated tape, the sprocket engaging not more than alternate perforations, whereby the sprocket tines engage with the periphery of the roller intermediate the recesses so that on rotation, an article in a recess is brought into engagement with the adhesive layer of the tape in register with a non-engaging perforation whereby the article adheres to said adhesive layer and is transported with said perforated tape.
The adhesive layer on the article is preferably a heat sensitive adhesive.
The invention further includes a method of providing a transferable pattern of articles which method comprises passing a transfer pattern receptor sheet progressively past a transfer station, said sheet having an adhesive layer on one side thereof, arranging a plurality of transfer heads at said transfer station in line across said sheet, providing a magazine of an article carrying transfer tape associated with each transfer head, causing the receptor sheet to move transversely of the transfer station and causing or allowing transfer of articles to take place from said tapes to said receptor sheet in accordance with a regular pattern across said receptor sheet.
In this way the apparatus of the present invention permits the production of a pattern and/or design on a carrier sheet in a reproducible manner. The machine is ideally suited to automated methods and digital control means may be provided for control of the pattern within the machine.
An advantage of the present invention is that it permits the continuous production of patterns on endless sheet materials. This means that not only can a lengthy longitudinal sheet such as a roll of fabric be treated directly, but cut pieces of a sheet material to be decorated may be positioned on, for example, a conveyor belt and then decorated in accordance with the present invention. This is of very considerable advantage in the textile industry and particularly the fashion industry, since it will be appreciated by the man skilled in the art that it is extremely difficult to cut material after patterns of, for example, rhinestones, have been applied thereto. The same applies to a lesser extent to cut parts which have subsequently to be sewn or stitched to other components or materials.
The present invention provides either direct transfer of a carefully controlled pattern to an endless sheet material or the formation of an intermediate transfer or carrier sheet which may then be used subsequently to transfer the pattern of decorative articles to a final decorated fabric product. In this connection whichever transfer system is employed whether direct to the final finished fabric product or by way of an intermediate carrier sheet, the patterns produced can be built up progressively, i.e. a first series of decorative articles may be deposited or applied in an initial pattern and then the final substrate material or intermediate carrier sheet may then be passed again through the machine in accordance with the invention in order to apply second pattern of similar or different articles, thus building up a complex pattern.
The patterns, partial patterns and so on may be controlled via the control means using properly prepared software which can be translated into a pattern forming operation through punched cards, magnetic cards and/or magnetic tapes.
In a further embodiment of the present invention where an intermediate transfer is produced, the intermediate carrier sheet will be produced by the machine having a plurality of articles disposed on a carrier sheet, each article having a layer of a heat sensitive adhesive on the side thereof away from the surface of the transfer sheet material itself.
It then remains to lay the carrier sheet carrying the decorative articles on the substrate such that the heat sensitive layer on each article is in contact with the substrate to which the article is ultimately to be transferred.
In one aspect of the invention, the carrier sheet and the substrate are passed between the jaws of a heated anvil press which applies heat and pressure, thereby activating the heat sensitive adhesive and causing the heat sensitive adhesive to adhere to the substrate, so that after passing between the jaws of said anvil press, separation of the carrier sheet from the substrate results in the weaker bond between the articles and the contact adhesive on the carrier sheet surface breaking in view of the superior adhesion between the article and the substrate by means of the heat sensitive adhesive, thereby leaving the articles disposed in the predetermined transfer pattern on the substrate itself.
In a further embodiment of the present invention it has been found that by vibrating one or the other of the jaws of the anvil press, improved adhesion is obtained. In particular, vibration of the heated jaws of the order of 50 to 150 cycles per minute, while applying a pressure of 0.5 to 3 kilograms per square centimeter for a sheet speed of 3 to 10 meters per minute, has been found to produce good results.
In accordance with the invention it will be appreciated that the advantages of mounting decorations on an intermediate transfer sheet instead of applying direct to the fabric are inter alia that the transfer so produced can be stored for subsequent transfer on a heat transfer device of the type described above. Furthermore, it is possible to have larger production runs of the patterns per se and store these against need for use in connection with individual piece goods.
The production of transfer media tends to avoid multiple changes of fabric and/or decorative articles and programs on the machine. This allows a longer production run in respect of each particular pattern and each particular set of decorative articles.
Commercially, orders for specific patterns can be met more rapidly since patterns and transfers can be produced for stock. Furthermore, the pattern forming machine forming the subject of the present invention can be caused to operate at a much greater rate than will be the case if decorative articles were being transferred direct to the final substrate, since in the latter case it is necessary for the machine to stop sufficiently long to allow for activation of the heat sensitive adhesive to occur before proceeding to the next pattern-forming step.
In spite of the foregoing, however, there are cases where significant advantages follow from the operation of a direct transfer system. In particular direct transfer is suitable for fabrics with delicate surfaces which would suffer if brought into overall contact with the sticky contact adhesive surface of a carrier sheet, particularly if pressed and heated to effect the transfer and then subsequently torn apart and separated from the then-redundant carrier sheet after transfer. This problem can be overcome only by the direct transfer of articles from the tape to the fabric.
It will be appreciated that where direct transfer of articles is effected from the tape to the fabric substrate, the orientation of the articles on the adhesive layer of the tape will be different than if the articles are to be applied, for example, to an intermediate carrier in a transfer type operation. In the case of direct transfer, therefore, the decorative articles will be mounted on the tape with the layer of heat sensitive adhesive exposed for subsequent transfer directly to the final receptor using the apparatus in accordance with the present invention. In the case of indirect transfer, i.e. initial transfer onto a receptor sheet, it will be appreciated that the articles will be mounted on the tape with the layer of heat sensitive adhesive in juxtaposition with the tack adhesive layer of the tape so that on transfer to an intermediate carrier sheet, the layer of heat sensitive adhesive will then be exposed. In the formation of the tapes carrying the decorative articles it will be appreciated that the rolling of the tapes into spools will provide for additional fixing of the articles into the adhesive layer of the tape itself.
Following is a description by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings of methods of carrying the invention into effect.